Saturday, September 01, 2007

Pakistan People's Party: "Ade Kanjar, Ade Dallay"

Tariq Ali reports: "The mood among sections of the street -- I am currently in Lahore -- is summed up in a cruel taunt: 'People's Party de ballay, ballay / ade kanjar, ade dallay' (Marvel at the People Party / half-whore and half-pimp)" ("Sinking Together?"The Guardian 30 August 2007). Benazir Bhutto's deal with Washington and the Pakistani Army is unlikely to hold.

President Musharraf of Pakistan is expected to win another five-year term today after the Supreme Court rejected his opponents’ last-ditch attempt to delay a presidential election.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tariq Azim, the Deputy Information Minister, said he was confident that General Musharraf would win todays’s election by the national and provincial assemblies. His supporters have majorities in the electoral college even after dozens of opposition MPs resigned this week to try to deny the election any legitimacy.

Ms Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the largest opposition party, is not expected to join the parliament walkout now that the power-sharing deal has been finalised. Officials said that General Musharraf signed a national reconciliation ordinance, dropping corruption cases against Ms Bhutto and committing to free and fair parliamentary elections, due by mid-January.